The Wolf's Daughter
by TheSilverLining53
Summary: When he was thirteen years old, Teddy Lupin made a promise to himself. Twelve years later, he fulfilled that promise, he found his sister. AU Post-DH Rated T for safety
1. Prologue: Something Illegal

A/N this is my first story ever so please review!!! I'm so excited to start writing and get feedback. Anyways, this is a AU-denial fic meaning Remus and Tonks are alive. But, it's not your typical happily ever after denial fic. As seen in the prologue all is not well...

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not mine, it's J.K. Rowling's. However, the plot, Katie, Andrew, Jim, and Mark are mine.

**Prologue: Something Illegal**

_The Texas Capital of Magic, Austin, Texas_

_1:30 AM_

The two men were the last ones in the building. It was unusual they were in the office at all since it was past midnight, and most of the city had long before fallen asleep. The summer heat pressed up against the walls, taking away any comfort they may have had. One of the men yawned, fanning himself with a newspaper.

"WEREWOLVES ARRESTED IN LONDON!" screamed the headline. And that was the reason the two young men were sitting in their cubicles past midnight when they should have been home with their families. Well, it was part of the reason, in an indirect way of course. But for most of the magical world, particularly England, it was all because of the werewolves.

"Got anymore coffee Jim?" said one of the men, breaking the silence that seemed to stretch between them.

"Nah, it's all gone," replied the other man, no revealed to be named Jim, struggling to keep his eyes open

"Crap," replied the other man. "Where is that damn British guy? I hate British people, all of them."

Jim raised his eyebrows at his partner. "I bet they all hate us, too, Mark. At least they're polite 'bout it."

"I don't care if they're polite or not, I just wanna go to bed."

"Ya know, in England it's 6:30 tomorrow. That might be why the guy's late. He could just not be adjusted to this time zone or just takin' his time, I guess."

Jim and Mark stopped speaking. The sounds of the night rustled through the windows, bringing with them the fears of the two young men. What they were doing was not necessarily legal, but it was not really illegal either. At least, as far as they thought, what they were doing was good. It just would be difficult to explain if they were caught.

And that's why the whole thing was being done at 1:30 in the morning.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The young wizard hesitated at the corner of the street, his arms wrapped tightly around the little girl curled up against his chest. She had finally fallen asleep after sobbing her way through five floo connections. Her crying had not even ceased when a kind lady at the New York Capital of Magic had given her a cookie.

He stood at the corner, thousand memories running through his brain. He remembered his brother first, a little boy of five years, crying when he watched Andrew (for that was the young man's name) leave for his first year of Hogwarts. He remembered being thirteen and being pulled out of Charms class by McGonagall because his seven year old brother was killed by a werewolf. He remembered being seventeen and Head Boy, on the train to Hogwarts. He remembered intercepting a fight between two first years, one of them with turquoise hair, of all things. He remembered talking to the first year with unusual hair color afterwards, and then not talking to him again after he learned exactly what the fight was about and exactly what the boy's father was.

_"I have one little sister. She's almost a year old…"_ Andrew shook Teddy Lupin's voice out of his head, finally remembering why he was in the United States. Nine months after the incident on the train, he was approached by a Ministry worker at graduation. The man had told Andrew that he had heard what happened to his brother, and that he thought Andrew was just right for a position in a newly formed committee. The man continued, telling him that Kingsley Shacklebolt was planning to retire, and the new committee was planning to have someone run for office. And if they won, the werewolves, the creatures that killed his brother would be sure to pay.

They won. Within two years, many anti-werewolf laws were passed, eliminating any freedoms the werewolves had in the first place. And the most recent law banned werewolves from getting married or having children as well as the demanding of custody of any such children.

That's why Andrew ended up on the street corner in Austin, Texas. Closing his eyes, he stepped forward, walking with a certain determination. As he walked into the Texas Capital of Magic, he was filled with a newfound courage, courage to do what he thought was right.

Andrew was greeted by a man, Jim, who was about ten years older than him. "You're late," accused the wizard, gruffly pointing out the obvious.

"Sorry," muttered Andrew. "We got held back in Tennessee."

"It's 2:30 in the freakin' morning!"

"I said I was sorry."

The two wizards unsteadily faced each other, not quite sure what to say next. "Is that the kid?" asked the Texan, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yes."

"She got a name?"

Then Andrew said the words that would haunt him for the rest of his life. "Her family called her Kate."

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_7:30 AM_

Thousands of miles away, across the Atlantic Ocean, a thirteen year old boy talked to his godfather. A tear slowly ran down his cheek as his godfather told him his parents had to go into hiding. And when he asked about his sister, all he got was a shake of the head.

His eyes filled with tears at the thought of three year old Katie alone and scared. His body shook with silent sobs as he remembered the bright blue eyes of a little girl who rarely stopped smiling. And that night, Teddy Lupin mad a promise to himself, a promise he would not break.

No matter what, even if it took him years and years, even if he lost everything in the process, he would find his little sister.

Twelve years later, that's exactly what he did.


	2. Chapter 1: The Morning After

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is JKR's. Anything you don't is mine, so don't steal it. The song is also not mine.

This story is dedicated to my friend Claire for inspiring/semi-betaing my story.

"It started out as a feeling  
Which then grew into a hope  
Which then turned into a quiet thought  
Which then turned into a quiet word  
And then that word grew louder and louder  
'Til it was a battle cry  
I'll come back  
When you call me  
No need to say goodbye"

"The Call" by Regina Spektor

**Chapter 1: The Morning After**

_George Washington High School, Dallas, Texas_

_B Building_

_8:30 AM_

"… Unfortunately the Native Americans did not- Kate are you listening to me?"

A voice cut into my daydreams of sitting quietly somewhere under a tree, the sun shining through the leaves onto my face. I struggled to open my eyes and sat up straighter. Ignoring the snickers of my classmates, I muttered, "Sorry, yes ma'am."

Ms. MacAfee sighed and set down the marker she was holding. I knew what was coming next: "You're such a great student, but… you lose concentration, but… you could do so well…" Blah, blah, blah. I've heard it all before.

Ms. MacAfee must be some sort of mind reader because she simply shook her head and turned back to her lecture notes. "Okay kids, please open your books to page 365 and Hailee start reading please."

I looked down at the textbook in front of me, suddenly realizing exactly how tired I was. The textbook was not my history textbook; in fact it wasn't a textbook at all. It was actually _The Lord of the Flies_, our assigned reading for English from the previous semester. _Great,_ I thought. _More reason to get a lecture from Ms. MacAfee._ I hesitantly raised my hand, not wanting to enrage the usually kind teacher in front of me.

Ms. MacAfee sighed again when she saw my hand was up. Catching sight of _The Lord of the Flies_, she raised an eyebrow. "Yes Kate?" she said, sounding afraid to even ask.

"May I please get my textbook from my locker?"

Unlike what she would have done with most students, she simply sighed again. Yes, I tend to have that effect on people. "Yes Kate, you may."

I rose from my chair slowly, then quickly exited the room, running into the door frame in the process. Wincing as I walked down the hall, I rubbed my shoulder and noticed a bruise in the shape of California was forming on my knee from where I'd bumped it against the kitchen table after breakfast this morning. I tend to be clumsy, well actually, mostly just unobservant, when I'm tired.

Walking through the corridors of my high school, I wondered what my history teacher would do if I just found a spot somewhere on the floor and slept for the rest of the period. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and finally reached my locker. I grinned slightly at my idioticness in forgetting my history textbook and carefully dug through the contents of my locker before finally realizing I had left the book at my house. Great, absolutely fantastic.

Life Lesson #253: Never refuse coffee from your best friend after an all-nighter.

Had I known that I would be this disoriented and disorganized today, I would have taken Maggie up on the offer of an early morning trip to Starbucks. Said trip would have probably given me enough energy to make it through the day before I would crash during lunch, and then sleepwalk through my last two classes. It would have been better than me sleepwalking through all six classes, but whatever. I hadn't gone to Starbucks this morning and it couldn't be helped.

That's what was going threw my mind when I heard a loud noise. It sounded like a cow or some large animal had been pushed over and was lying on the ground. Of, course since I was in school, there probably were not any large animals in the hallway.

So, I went to investigate and was faced with an unusual and slightly awkward sight. A young man with sandy brown hair, the same color as mine, was sprawled in an uncomfortable position across several of the steps of the stairs. _Awkward,_ I thought. _This morning just keeps getting weirder and weirder. _Going for Nice Katie, I said, "You okay?"

At the sound of my voice the boy looked up and we made eye contact. His eyes were dark, coffee black (maybe a shade lighter), but when his eyes caught mine, they changed. They flashed a bright blue, the color of my own eyes. Yeah, it was a little weird.

"What the…" I left the rest up to his imagination. "Your eyes just changed colors!"

A thousand emotions ran across his face in the next second. I saw everything from happiness to panic. Then he raised an eyebrow and replied in a British accent, "What? No they didn't."

At the sound of his voice, my thoughts grew increasingly confused. Why was there some random British dude lying on the stairs in a Texas high school? We didn't have any foreign exchange students, at least not from England. But, I had a different problem. "Yes they did! They changed colors from brown to blue!" I protested, trying to tell myself I wasn't really that crazy.

"Are you mental? My eyes don't change colors!" It was funny though. He didn't really sound like he was trying to convince me; it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

Great. How tired was I? Now I was hallucinating apparently. Just great. "Ugh. Never mind," I said and walked away muttering about all-nighters and no coffee. When I looked back, the man was staring at me, the expression on his face a mix of amusement, shock, and extreme joy. Then he seemed to get control of himself and stumbled back down the stairs. Huh.

I shook my head. _History excuses, then strange man with changing eye colors. Take one thing at a time Katie._ I thought.

_George Washington High School, Dallas, Texas_

_Fine Arts Building_

_4:00 PM_

The rest of my classes past in a blur. I skipped lunch, preferring to sleep on top of my backpack in the library. When I woke up, I had a zipper print across my cheek and had to go through the red of the day with bright red marks on my face. All in all, not one of my best days.

It was all worth it when, at 3:30, classes ended, and I was able to go practice piano in an empty room in the Fine Arts Building. You see, when I was younger, well… Let's just say I was not a happy child. I frequently was angry and frustrated and had fits of temper that would end with exploding toilets or the changing of hair colors. This was partly due to accidental magic that happens with any young witch or wizard. But even after I started magic lessons when I was eight, these fits continued. I skipped from foster home to foster home, finally ending up in Dallas, Texas. The nicest foster mother I've had decided piano lessons would be the best way to get me to calm down. In my opinion, they didn't really work. By that time, I was old enough to control myself more and understood what I was doing would not get me anywhere, but I enjoyed piano, so I kept doing it.

So, here I was, playing a pretty classical piece I had been working on for about a month when my best friend, and often partner in crime, Maggie popped in the doorway.

"Katie! Are you coming to class?" She asked, smiling as if the best thing ever was magic class.

"Yea, sure," I mutter absentmindedly. "What time?"

"4:30."

I looked at my watch. "Shit! It's 4:12."

Maggie laughed, enjoying the fact that I was panicking. "You need a ride?"

"Nah, I need to clear my head anyways."

"You'll be late."

I shrugged. "Do I look like I care?"

Chuckling, Maggie shook her head in a what-will-I-do-with-you way and left the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click. I sat on the piano bench for a second, wishing I could just curl up right there and sleep before looking at the clock and realizing I had about seventeen minutes to get all the way across town.

_With no money for a bus and no car. You should have accepted Maggie's ride offer._ I thought. _This is just perfect._

I dashed out of the building, the bag slung haphazardly over my shoulder bouncing with every step. I barely got past the first block when I heard a shout behind me. "Wait!" I whipped around, my wand already in my hand. In most situations I think it's better that someone thinks you're absolutely insane rather than to rely on punching them to defend yourself.

It was that British dude from the stairs. _What the hell is he doing here?_ I thought. "Who the hell are you?"

"Katie," he said hesitantly. _How does he know my name?_ "It's okay. Relax."

"Who the hell are you?" I repeated, seeing red hot anger threatening to boil over. "Tell me now!" My wand was pointed at his chest, slowly backing him up into a chain link fence. His eyes were wide, not with fear, but with some sort of awe and amazement.

"Teddy Lupin," His dark eyes held mine. "And I'm your brother."

I stood there in shocked silence for a moment. "You're crazy!" was the first thing that came out of my mouth. "I'm a foster kid. I don't have a family." My voice shook as I said this. The pain, the hole that constantly reminded me what I was missing ached in my chest with every breath I took.

Teddy kept his eyes on mine. "Your full name is Katarina Lily Lupin. You were born September 28, 2007 in London, England. You're a witch, half-blood according to your birth certificate. Your first word was 'Dada.' You love chocolate."

I shook my head as he was talking. "Anyone could know this. All you would have to do would be to talk to some people who knew me when I was a kid and look at some records." I turned around, hoping to flee the awkward scene when Teddy's voice stopped me.

"You couldn't sleep last night. Every month there's one night it's impossible for you to sleep." _How does he know that?_ I paused, deliberately not looking at him. "Listen Katie, _please_ listen to me." I could hear the desperation in his voice. I looked at him again; his eyes were filled with tears. "I lost my family when I was thirteen. I don't want to come so close to finding it again, only to lose it."

"I've spent twelve years, not knowing where you are, if you were safe or happy. Our parents disappeared the same night you did, and I had to grow up without them. I know you must have had it hard too, but Katie, we could be a family again," _This is insane._ I thought. I wanted to believe it, but there was no way it could be true. But then my bright blue eyes met Teddy's dark ones, and I remembered it, a dream that I had so often had, especially when I was younger. But memories fade, and this one must have.

A soft voice singing to me a lullaby. Soft blue eyes, similar to my own, but shadowed with years of worry and sorrow looking down at me. And a young voice calling "Dad!", and those same dark eyes looking into mine. A memory of a time before foster homes, a time when I was loved.

Teddy had stopped talking then, with a final, "_Please believe me._" My gaze was steady on his.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I do believe you. It's crazy, and a part of me is saying 'Liar! Liar!' and I know it sounds stupid and naïve, but I think it's-" My declaration was cut off by a pair of strong arms enveloping me. I felt tears drop on top of my head as Teddy sobbed, and I buried my face in his t-shirt, feeling safe for the first time in twelve years.

_So this is what it feels like._

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. Thanks to the reviewer. It's cool if you read and don't review (if I said it wasn't I would be a huge hypocrite) but to story alert and not review... that's not cool. Don't make me call you out. *glares at two people*

It may feel like I'm rushing into things, but this story's not really about Teddy and Katie reuniting, it's about what happens after that. Anyhow, thanks for reading, tell me what you think (or not, whatever). Flames will be used to cook hotdogs (yum, yum, yum)


	3. Chapter 2: Teddy's Story

A/N: Lesson learned. Sorry. That being said, there is a problem with hyphens vs. dashes. I switched computers halfway through this chapter (from a PC to a Mac), but I think I caught most of the formatting errors. I'm also flying beta-free so any errors are my own...

Disclaimer: Not mine if it's recognizable. Also, I made up the name of the street.

**Chapter 2: Teddy's Story**

_Banket St., Dallas, Texas_

_Sidewalk_

_5:00 PM_

_This is weird. This is really weird._

_No freakin' duh._

_ No need to be sarcastic with me!_

_ I am you!_

_ Shut up._

You know you're going insane when you start having conversations with yourself.

_You're not going insane. You're just tired, really tired. Go sleep._

Ah, the Voice of Reason.

_ Oh, in the middle of the road? And get run over by a car? What the hell are you thinking? You aren't a very good "Voice of Reason!"_

"Are you okay? You've been kind of quiet," Teddy's voice sliced into my thoughts, effectively ending my conversation.

"Just thinkin'," I said, managing not to trip over a rock. _Stupid rock._

"What about?"

"Stuff," I shrugged. "You know, it's a little overwhelming to go from without a family to having a brother."

Teddy laughed lightly. "I guess. I've never been in that kind of situation before; I wouldn't know how you feel."

"I guess not," I sighed. "So what happened to you then? I mean, you said your family was taken away from you… I mean, I know that includes me but… What happened twelve years ago?"

Teddy stopped walking and turned away from me, looking at a playground. "It's a long story and not one I really want to tell you, especially right now. Can we just drop it?"

_I can't believe it. Jerk. _"Seriously, what happened? It's important to me, to understand what I've been living in the U.S. when I actually was born in England!"

Teddy shook his head slightly, the stubborn set of his mouth telling me it would be hard to get the story out of him.

I couldn't believe this. This guy who I had met about an hour ago, telling me he couldn't tell me why I was supposedly taken from my family twelve years ago. _What an asshole. _I thought, then instantly regretted my strong use of words against my brother.

Teddy sat down on a nearby bench, stilling staring at the playing children. "What are you afraid of?" I asked tentatively, my voice soft. "Is it a sad story then? An abusive father? An alcoholic mother? Something normally on a Lifetime Original Movie?"

Teddy turned around, and his angry eyes met mine. "Dad loved you! And Mum scarcely drank! You know nothing about my story or our parents' story!" His voice shook with anger as he yelled at me. Finally, he seemed to come to his senses and turned back to face the playground. "Sit down," he said, speaking softly this time, like he was trying not to scare me. "I'll tell you the story."

I sat down in the space next to Teddy. His eyes were blank, staring off into nowhere as if he was watching a movie only he could see. He placed his hands in his lap; I noticed they were shaking.

"You know," I said cautiously. "I was kidding about the whole abusive, alcoholic thing. I'm just like that, talking without thinking and being sarcastic and what-not…" My voice trailed off. What are you supposed to say to a brother you never knew existed?

Teddy's black eyes hardened. Then he spoke. "What do you know about werewolves?"

"What? What do you mean by that?"

He shook his head. "Just answer the question."

I snorted. I didn't see how this was relevant. "As much as the next person I guess… Why are you asking me this?

Teddy ignored my query. "What does the next person know?"

I raised an eyebrow at this. I honestly could not tell where he was going. I took a deep breath then recited facts from the lessons I'd had on dark creatures. "Werewolves are evil creatures with no good intent that cannot control themselves with their violent nature. Blah, blah, blah…" Personally I thought it was bullshit, but no one asked me.

Teddy's mouth popped open. "You believe that shit?"

I shrugged. "I've never met a werewolf before. How I am supposed to know?"

He snorted. "It's kind of ironic, the things you're saying. Trust me; you've met a werewolf before."

"What are you talking about? Do you mean like when I was little or something?" I was really, really confused now. _My head hurts like hell._ I thought, rubbing my temples. I closed my eyes and tried so hard to remember those many years ago.

He fidgeted. "Yeah, I guess." Teddy looked at the playground structure in front of us.

_Thank you for clearing that up. I totally understand now._ Rolling my eyes, I said, "Teddy, you're going to have to explain your thoughts. I'm not a mind reader, and I don't remember being three."

He flinched at that. "I know you don't, but I just don't know where to start." Looking down at his hands, Teddy shook his head at whatever he was thinking.

"Try then!" When he did not reply, my temper, already short from not sleeping, going to school, tripping repeatedly, and finding out "whoops I'm not actually an orphan after all," finally blew completely out of proportion. "Damn it Teddy! I can't read your freaking' mind! You are going to have to use your words!" At the end of my furious speech, I hit him once on the back of the head for good measure.

Now it was his turn to look at me furiously. "What the hell was that for?"

"For being an idiot!" I exclaimed. _Who does he think I am?_ "Do you really think I'm patient right now? Really? Who do… Why can't… What kind of…" I couldn't even find the right word. "Dude!" One of Teddy's eyebrows rose at this exclamation, and his lips struggled to remain in their serious shape. Even I couldn't quite keep a straight face.

"Anyways," my serious voice lasted for about a second before I starting laughing really hard. Teddy started laughing too, and for about five minutes neither of us could form an intelligible sentence. But the laughter ended, and Teddy still danced around the topic of what happened when I was three.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, I rubbed my sweaty hands on my jeans and said, "Well, are you going to explain all the crazy stuff that's happened in the last couple of hours or am I going to have to assume you're lying about all this shit." I stood up, trying to make sense of what was going on. If Teddy wasn't going to tell me, then I was going to leave. _He might be lying. He could be some sort of creepy pedophile who made up all this stuff about you to lure you in._

Stupid Voice of Reason.

Teddy cleared his throat and tried to look determined. "Sit down," he said, his voice full of big-brother authority. "I'm not lying. I will tell you what happened." I sat down again. By then I was exhausted, frustrated with this idiot man, and I just wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep for the rest of my life.

Teddy hesitated again. "Katie, I-"

"-Just tell me, I'm not going to run off or anything." I closed my eyes. "Trust me."

He took a deep breath and began, "Our father's a werewolf. That's why you were taken away. There was some stupid law forbidding werewolves to have children and any children they had would have to be removed from their custody. I was at school when the law was passed, and my godfather took care of me during breaks. I haven't seen Mum or Dad since I was thirteen because after the laws were passed they had to go into hiding. Since I turned seventeen and became an adult, I've been looking for you. So now you know the big secret, the one you wanted to know so badly."

I was shocked. I mean, what are you supposed to say after your long-lost brother tells you all of this shit about your parents and your family life. So, of course, because I have so much tact, I said, "How do you know it's me?"

"What?"

"How do you know I'm your sister? You could have the wrong person, you know."

He sighed, "I'm pretty sure I don't. For one, I looked at the files of the children who were 'relocated' twelve years ago. Your file said you were sent to Austin, Texas in America. So, then I went to Austin, looked at the records there, figured out your name was Kate Jones, and followed the trail to here, Dallas right?" He paused. "Also, you look a lot like Dad."

Still dumbfounded with the entire situation, I did not know what to say. For what seemed like the thousandth time, we sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Finally, I said, "And they just let you look at these records? I doubt they would give children's names and locations out to random people."

Teddy laughed, "No I guess not. Technically, Katie, I'm your legal guardian. Or I would be if I had custody."

"Which you don't."

"True, which I don't. But, I did say something about me being a cousin of yours, and that we had been looking for you for years. Half true. I _have_ been looking for you for years. Of course, I'm not your cousin; I'm your brother but close enough. After telling whoever was running the office that lie, I would turn on the Teddy Charm-" I snorted "- then Confund them if necessary. Since most of them were muggles it wasn't that difficult to get what I wanted."

I wasn't quite sure what to say to that. "Teddy, isn't that illegal?"

He snorted, "Well, I'm about to kidnap you and take you to England. I'm pretty sure putting the Confunding a couple of muggles won't be a big deal compared to that."

"Okay then," I said. "So we are going to England."

Teddy checked his watch. "Yes, the portkey leaves in about an hour, six-thirty exactly. That means we'll be home around one in the morning tomorrow but that's okay." He stood up, stretching and looking around. Parents were starting to take their kids home for dinner, and the playground was becoming less crowded by the minute.

_Home_. I thought about it. _I have a home_. That thought sent warmth throughout my body. "Alright. Let's go." I jumped up, grabbed my bag, and started walking down the street.

Teddy yelled after me, "Do you even know where you're going?"

I turned around to look at him. "No, but I'm sure if I wait long enough you'll tell me where to go."

He smiled. "We can just apparate. It's easier than using muggle transportation, especially in a country you don't know."

"Hey I know the country!" I protested.

"How old are you again." He smirked. _Smart ass_. "Besides, I know what I'm doing. I passed my apparation test on the first try. Trust me. I was in Ravenclaw. I'm smart; I have a plan."

"I'm not even going to pretend I know what a Ravenclaw is," I said. He laughed. "But let's go then, if we need to catch a portkey in forty-five minutes."

Teddy held out his arm, and I accepted. Seconds later, we disappeared, leaving nothing but footprints and distrust behind.

We arrived in England about midnight-thirty their time. Six hours of my life, gone. From there, it took us about thirty minutes to find an operating floo that late on a Thursday night (well, early on a Friday morning). Then we went home.

As soon as we arrived, Teddy said he was going to take a shower while I got acquainted with the house. The house was small, three bedrooms and two bathrooms (that was going to be fun). The door to the master bedroom was closed, and I knew if I looked inside it would be untouched, the same as it was twelve years ago. My bedroom was like that. The small twin bed had bright pink sheets on it, the kind of thing you have when you're three and like that sort of thing. I'm not saying teenagers don't have pink bedspreads either. I mean, that's totally okay. _Wow I'm sleep deprived._

I set my backpack down on the floor of the room and looked around the small bedroom of a toddler. Toys were spread across the floor, and a doll was lying right next to my foot. I half expected to see a toddler to come walking down the hallway. It felt like the room was someone else's territory, something alien and _not mine_. Then I saw the picture.

It was on the bedside table, probably placed there by one of my parents or even Teddy all those years ago. I dusted the glass off with my jacket sleeve and examined the picture inside the frame. It was a picture of a family: mother, father, daughter, and son. I looked closer and realized the little girl in the photo was me. She – I – was smiling. Teddy was also in the picture, but he was a scrawny preteen with bright blue hair. _A metamorphmagus._ Teddy had explained his eye-color-changing trick while we were waiting for the portkey, and I was fascinated. Someone who could change his or her physical appearance at will? Pretty cool in my opinion.

After looking at Teddy's face, I moved on to my parents. My father was seated with me on his lap. His hair was mostly gray with a few strands on light brown peeking out. My mother was standing behind Teddy laughing. Her hair changed from brown to pink as I looked at the picture. _My parents_. As thoughts go, that one was probably the scariest. Exhausted, I sat down on the bed with the picture in my hand. I was so absorbed in it that I didn't notice Teddy walk into the room.

"Hey, I brought you a shirt to sleep in like you asked." He hesitated. "We can go to Harry's house tomorrow to borrow some of Lily's clothes for you to wear until we can get you some of your own."

I was too tired to ask who Harry and Lily were. Instead, I just muttered, "Thanks," and setting down the picture, took the offered shirt.

Teddy looked briefly at the picture then said, "The bathroom's open. If you need anything just ask. I think I'm going to try to sleep now. I bet you are exhausted."

"Thanks." _Does my vocabulary only consist on one word now?_

"Okay then," he said before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

I closed my eyes, slightly happy to be alone. It wasn't long before I fell asleep, fully clothed, on top of the pink quilt.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Thanks to my readers and reviewers. Love you all. Sorry about the wait. I don't know what's wrong with me...

Anyways, hopefully the next chapter won't take me as long... Hopefully... And it should me more interesting than this one. Also thanks to Claire for being so wonderfully encouraging (coughannoyingcough). Without her I never would have continued. Anyways...  
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Happy whatever-you-celebrate.  
Reviews make me happy?


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